The pride of having a tap in Niamone

Way back in the 2012, stacks of pipes slowly invaded one of the most rural communities in Southern Senegal and this aroused enthusiasm among the population of the villages. The stack were huge and positioned under the mango trees. Nothing made people think that in a few months the pipes would be gone and that feeling of contentment among the people would consequently weaken. "The visibility of an infrastructure, its appearance, is an important factor in the judgment of the population; a well, a school are visible, a tap is less visible."

Fondazione ACRA has been building water systems in Casamance, Senegal, since 2006, thanks to the WASH PEPAM-TENGHORY program that aims to provide access to safe drinking water and to an adequate sanitation to 60,000 people living in the District of Tenghory. The peculiarity of the water systems built in the rural community of Niamone is to combine new materials with traditional labour, that of the trained plumbers of the beneficiary villages who built the structure and one day will be able to repair it. Indeed, the management of the construction by ACRA was shared with people living in the villages who dug trenches and manholes, laid pipes and offered days of hard work in the hope that the long-awaited "date eau " will come as soon as possible.

The inauguration day was 10 November 2014, a beautiful sunny day. More than 100 kilometers of pipes had already been laid below ground and 811 individual taps now stuck out of the ground. Everyone was outside their homes to celebrate, the meeting with the local authorities was expected but the best thing was the incredulous looks of strangely-thirsty people. Our technical team was on the ground and people of the villages proudly show their taps. It looked like they wanted to surprise us. "Water!" they say. "It's not just about having a tap, but knowing that tomorrow our children will be fine and healthy" - Moumel Massete Ediou Yapyoe (this is the slogan used by ACRA during the awareness campaign; in the local language it means: drinking water, lasting health).

The access to drinking water is a human right and it must be ensured to all. So, today, we must be a little proud: see you at the next tap installation…